Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” Harmatys Park, extraordinary wife, mother, grandmother, poet, scholar, and friend, died on May 16, 2024 due to complications from heart surgery. She was 81.
Betty was born on the south side of Milwaukee on Sept. 10, 1942 to Stanley and Rose (Westphal) Harmatys. Her fondest childhood memories were of her cousins and three sisters Dolly, Judy, and Marge. She loved to recall her years at Mercy High School. During her first year at Marquette University, she met the love of her life, John Park, and they were married on July 2,1966. For as long as anyone can remember, the names “John and Betty” have gone together. They loved to dance, whether it was at a Polka Fest or a Rolling Stones concert. Their marriage was a true friendship and a beautiful love story.
Betty was passionate about many things. She was an advocate to end gun violence. She was a longtime prison minister. She cherished her Catholic faith as a lifelong feminist, while seeing the world as a sacred place, charged with meaning and grace. Betty was generous and always thought of others. Her last words before her surgery were a prayer for those in war zones who also need serious surgery, but are unable to receive it. Hers was a life well lived, in all of the important ways.
Betty earned her BA from Marquette University in 1964, her MSW from the Catholic University of America in 1966, and her PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin in 2005 where her dissertation was on Catholic liturgy. She worked as a clinical social worker and an educator until her retirement when she had time to focus on her poetic talent. Betty, a widely published poet, was the recipient of the Wisconsin Writers Association Jade Ring Prize in 2012. She was the current Racine County Poet Laureate.
Betty is survived by her beloved husband of 58 years, John R. Park, MD; her dear daughter and son Karen E. (martyn) Park and Adam J. (Tina) Park; her eight adoring grandchildren: Martha, Leo, Arthur, Aurora, Sophia, Josephine, Aaron and Caroline; and by countless friends whose lives she made immeasurably richer and fuller.
We would also like to express our gratitude to Zoe and Linnea, her nurses in the Cardiac ICU at St. Luke’s Hospital, for their skilled and compassionate care in the last two days of Betty’s life.
Visitation will be at Schuette-Daniels Funeral Home in Burlington on Friday, May 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. with a family-led rosary at 7 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be on Saturday, May 25, at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Church in Lyons with a brunch to follow in the church hall.
Donations may be made in Betty’s name to the Marquette University Center for Peacemaking
Well-wishers may visit www.danielsfamilyfuneral.com.
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